Pyrus communis

The following subspecies are currently accepted: • Pyrus communis subsp. caucasica – Turkey, Caucasus • Pyrus communis subsp. communis – Entire range except Caucasus ==Origin==

The cultivated Common pear (P. communis subsp. communis) is thought to be descended from two subspecies of wild pears, categorized as P. communis subsp. pyraster (syn. P. pyraster) and P. communis subsp. caucasica (syn. P. caucasica), which are interfertile with domesticated pears. Archeological evidence shows these pears "were collected from the wild long before their introduction into cultivation", according to Zohary and Hopf. Although they point to finds of pears in sites in Neolithic and Bronze Age European sites, "reliable information on pear cultivation first appears in the works of the Greek and the Roman writers." Theophrastus, Cato the Elder, and Pliny the Elder all present information about the cultivation and grafting of pears. == Cultivation ==

Common pear trees are not quite as hardy as apples, but nearly so. However, they do require some winter chilling to produce fruit. A number of Lepidoptera caterpillars feed on pear tree leaves. For best and most consistent quality, common pears are picked when the fruit matures, but before they are ripe. Fruit allowed to ripen on the tree often drops before it can be picked, and in any event will be hard to pick without bruising. Pears store (and ship) well in their mature but unripe state if kept cold, and can be ripened later, a process called bletting. Some varieties, such as Beurre d'Anjou, ripen only with exposure to cold. Fermented pear juice is called perry. In Britain, the place name "Perry" can indicate the historical presence of pear trees. Relatively few cultivars of European or Asian pears are widely grown worldwide. Only about 20–25 European and 10–20 Asian cultivars represent virtually all the pears of commerce. Almost all European cultivars were chance seedlings or selections originating in western Europe, mostly France. The Asian cultivars all originated in Japan and China. 'Bartlett' (Williams) is the most common pear cultivar in the world, representing about 75% of US pear production. File:2015 Kwiatostan gruszy pospolitej.jpg|Pear tree in flower File:Kruška Rana Moretini - mali plodovi.JPG|Tiny unripe pears Cultivars File:Blake's Pride pears.jpg|Blake's Pride pear (Image courtesy of USDA, ARS) File:Pear peckham 78.jpg|Packham's Triumph pear, or just Packham's pear File:Clairgeau1.poupou.jpg|Beurré Clairgeau, or Clairgeau pear, an early 19th-century French variety File:Guteluise1.poupou.jpg|Louise Bonne of Jersey pear, a late 18th-century French pear File:Williams Bon Chrétien 1822.png|Williams' Bon Chrétien (commonly Williams or Bartlett) pear, 1822 print File:Pomological Watercolor POM00006921.jpg|Summer Beauty pear - watercolor 1893 File:Pomological Watercolor POM00006920.jpg|Sudduth pear - watercolor 1895 File:Poires williams Vertes et Rouges Savoie.jpg|Williams pear red and green File:Kruška Rana Moretini.jpg|'Butirra Precoce Morettini' variety File:Kruška Društvenka.jpg|'Doyenné du Comice' variety File:Pomological_Watercolor_POM00007002.jpg|Watercolor of Forelle (Common pear) painted in 1900 by Deborah Griscom Passmore (USDA) File:Common pear tree in early June.JPG|Pyrus Communis in the UBC Botanical Garden File:Kruška Pastorčica.jpg|'Vicar of Winkfield' variety File:Päronträd (Pyrus communis) Ystad-2017.jpg|A 104 year old pear tree fell in a backyard. File:Päronträd - 2013-Ystad.jpg|Pears bloom in May in a backyard. == Uses ==

Pears are eaten fresh or cooked as a dessert, and may be served in pies. They are sometimes used to accompany meat. Pears are fermented to make perry; this can be distilled to make a pear brandy. File:Thick Cut Pork Chop - 2.jpg|Pork chop with roasted pears File:Pear_pie.jpg|A pear pie File:Perry bottled in Normandy.jpg|A French perry from Normandy File:Williams_Pear_Brandy.JPG|Williams pear brandy ==References==